MPs' Suffolk farm visit highlights risks to UK food production

MPs have been warned of mounting pressure on British arable farms as rising input costs and policy uncertainty continue to test domestic food production.

Four parliamentarians from Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats visited E J Barker & Sons in Westhorpe, Mid Suffolk, as part of the NFU’s Food and Farming Fellowship Scheme.

The family-run arable farm has been operated by the Barker family for three generations, dating back to the 1950s.

The visit gave MPs a closer look at how crops are grown, protected and harvested before entering the food supply chain.

Discussions focused on the pressures facing arable farmers, including the impact of conflict in the Middle East on energy, fuel and fertiliser prices.

The NFU said the UK imports around 60% of its nitrogen fertiliser, while the remainder is processed or produced domestically using imported ammonia.

It said this leaves the sector particularly exposed to global shocks.

Those attending included Adam Jogee, Labour MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme; Ben Goldsborough, Labour MP for South Norfolk; Rebecca Paul, Conservative MP for Reigate; and Brian Mathew, Liberal Democrat MP for Melksham and Devizes.

They were joined by Jamie Burrows, chair of the NFU National Combinable Crops Board, and Ed Barker, head of policy and external affairs at the Agricultural Industries Confederation.

The visit also covered the UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary deal and its potential impact on the arable sector.

The NFU said farmers needed sufficient transition arrangements to adjust to any changes affecting plant protection products.

It said this should include allowing farmers to use existing stocks and ensuring crops grown using those products remain legally marketable after harvest.

Mr Burrows said: “It is always great to get MPs out on farm so they learn more about the industry and the role it plays in feeding the nation, as well as supporting rural communities and the wider economy.”

He said the arable sector was facing a difficult period as harvest approaches.

“It is really difficult for the arable sector at the moment,” Mr Burrows said.

“The war in the Middle East has driven up input costs, adding to an already extremely pressured time for farmers who will soon be going into harvest.”

Mr Burrows said the NFU would continue working with politicians so they better understand how policy decisions affect British farmers and growers.

He said the aim was to help strengthen the resilience of domestic food production so it could “continue to feed the country now and into the future”.

The NFU’s Food and Farming Fellowship Scheme was launched in 2024 to help MPs better understand UK farming and food production.

The programme is run with partners including ABP UK, the Agricultural Industries Confederation, Arla Foods, Barfoots, the British Egg Industry Council and FareShare.

Ed Barker said AIC was pleased to be working with the NFU on the scheme.

“The scheme allows the arable supply chain to demonstrate to MPs the dynamics and challenges in farm inputs, and its variety of customers in food manufacturing, malting, milling, animal feed and energy sectors,” he said.

He added that explaining these issues through the perspective of a family arable farm helped build knowledge and create “a platform for further engagement with parliamentarians.”